March 22, 2018 Interview with Literary Agent Melissa Edwards of StoneSong

About Melissa:

Melissa Edwards joined Stonesong as a literary agent in August 2016. Previously, she was a literary agent at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, where she managed the foreign rights for a 40-year backlist. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt Law School, Melissa began her career as a litigation attorney before transitioning into publishing. She is a tireless advocate for her clients and a constant partner during the publication process and beyond. Melissa represents authors of children’s fiction, adult commercial fiction, and select pop-culture nonfiction. She is looking for warm and timeless middle grade fiction and accessible young adult fiction. For adults, she is looking for fast-paced thrillers and smart women’s fiction. Melissa also acts as a contract consultant for authors and agents under the business MLE Consulting. She can be found on Twitter @MelissaLaurenE, where she often tweets her active Manuscript Wishlist requests under #MSWL.

Connect with Melissa:

Twitter: @MelissaLaurenE

Why and/or how did you become an agent?

When I was a lawyer, I was fascinated by publishing and specifically by literary agents. I contacted Harlan Coben’s agent, Lisa Erbach Vance, to ask about her job. They ended up having an available internship, which then became an assistant position two weeks later. I was promoted to lead their foreign rights department around a year later and then eventually I was allowed to start building my own domestic list. I moved over to Stonesong a year and a half ago to focus exclusively on my domestic list.

Where are you based?

New York City

What’s a day in the life of literary agent Melissa Edwards like?

It involves a lot of reading. I wake up and check my emails from over night. Then I get to work on my to do list, which generally involves my queue of editorial work for my clients or reading a contract for a client. (Or both!) On days when I pitch books, phone calls with editors make up a huge portion of the day. Then I might go to lunch with an editor to discuss their wishlist and catch up on the industry. In the afternoon, I try to read some queries from prospective authors and sneak in some submissions. This doesn’t always happen, especially if there’s a lot of editing left to do! I try to take a kettlebell class in the evening and come home to read a little bit more from my submission list. If possible, I read a bit from a published book before bed.

What do you love most about your job?

I love seeing the germ of an idea blossom into something spectacular– idea to execution is the behind the scenes experience that makes publishing so worth it. I love working with authors and helping facilitate their lifelong dream of publication.

What are some of your goals within the industry? Overall vision for yourself?

I’d like to be known as a tireless advocate who will do anything for her clients (with a smile.) I believe in kindness and firmness at the same time. I think there is a way to be tough but fair, strong but polite. That is the reputation I hope I’m cultivating in this industry.

Is there a specific project you recently sold that you’re especially excited about?

I am really excited for Bea Birdsong’s picture book I WILL BE FIERCE, illustrated by Nidhi Chanani, forthcoming in 2019 from Roaring Brook/ Macmillan. Young people have voices that deserve to be heard. They have curious minds and alternate perspectives. This book feels like a mantra for the kids coming up in the world.

What would be your dream project? Dream big!

My dream project would be a big splashy contemporary queer YA romance!

What sets a great manuscript apart from the rest of the crowd for you?

That butt-glued-to-couch feeling.When I’m reading something and nothing distracts me– not Twitter, not email, not the train coming to a stop at my station. When I can feel it in my bones that I must keep reading. That is a great manuscript.

When and where do you read queries?

I try to break out a chunk of hours to read queries on Fridays, since having a backed up query inbox gives me anxiety. I also tend to read them on my phone on the train.

How important to you is a potential client’s social media presence?

I don’t require a social media presence from fiction writers, at first. But once they have a deal, I know a publisher will want to see some commitment to at least one social media site. Not all! But at least one– the one that makes the author feel most comfortable. An author website is also a good idea.

What’s on your #MSWL?

I am always looking for sweet, lovely contemporary MG. I love funny and snappy YA, especially if it has a romantic element. I’d love to dip my toe into fantastical elements, but I am more comfortable with fantasy grounded in our world. I am also looking for commercial youthful women’s fiction and thrillers.

Anything that’s definitely not a fit for you?

I don’t generally prefer historical fiction, especially anything having to do with war. I don’t like books with sexual violence against women.

What do you hope to see in a client?

I like when my clients ask questions about the process. With debut authors, I often hear a lot of “I don’t want to bother you, but…” Asking questions is not a bother! I am here for you, authors. I am here to answer your questions and assuage your concerns. Keeping an open line of communication is tantamount in the author/agent relationship.

What’s a unique way in which you champion your clients?

I started my career as an attorney, so I am confident that I am going above and beyond when I negotiate a contract for my clients. My clients benefit from my education and experience in that particularly important part of the publication process. I recently started a business called MLE Consulting, so I can be hired by other authors or agents to read and negotiate contracts for them as well. (Information can be found at melissaedwardsesq.com.)

Do you receive many manuscripts from diverse authors?

I do, but I am always looking for more diverse voices to feature and promote in children’s literature. The world is wide and all kids deserve representation in print.

What diverse groups do you feel are especially underrepresented within the industry? As characters within novels?

I recently read a MG novel with a secular Jewish protagonist and I realized how rare that is– a character whose Judaism is part of her life, but not her whole life. I’d love to see that in more contemporary fiction. (As a Jewish agent, this is particularly personal to me.) I’d also love to see more contemporary Native and Indigenous stories, as well as South American voices.

What do you perceive to be some of the greatest challenges to diversity faced within the industry?

I think “box checking” is one of the greatest challenges to diversity. Publishers and agents have existing lists and sometimes they might feel like they have checked a box by having a story with one category of diversity represented and might not “need” another book within that category, regardless of plot, genre, or characterization. This method does not appreciate stories as a wholistic entities. They are not one thing and cannot be boiled down so simply. Diversity is not a box to be ticked off.

Any advice for authors regarding crafting diverse characters? Pitfalls to avoid?

I think getting authenticity reads and truly appreciating the advice on a macro and micro level is necessary. Not just making the line edits, but seeing the forest for the trees and understanding why the edits are being suggested is of the utmost importance.

Are there any upcoming conferences or twitter events you’ll be participating in?

Oh, I am going to be everywhere in the second half of this year. I will be at the Pike’s Peak Writer’s Conference in April in Colorado Springs, the OWFI Conference in Oklahoma in May, the Jackson Hole Writer’s Conference in June, Killer Nashville in August, the Rocky Mountain Writer’s Conference in Denver in September, and the SCBWI conference in Iowa in October. I also take monthly appointments and critiques through Manuscript Academy. I participate in PitchWars, #pitmad, and #dvpit. You cannot get rid of me this year.

Final advice for writers and/or illustrators? Keep going.

You’ve got this. You’re so brave for putting your work out there. There’s a lid for every pot.

Wildcard Round:

If you could spend a day with any person, living or dead, who would it be?

My grandmother, Lee Hollander, when she was a ballerina with George Balanchine or when she was a June Taylor Dancer on the Jackie Gleason Show.

If you had a magic wand and could change anything in the world, what’s the one thing you would change?

I would make the Earth healthy again.

What’s your spirit animal and why?

Ladybugs because you never know quite why they’re around, but they make you smile.

If you could have any career (outside of publishing), what would it be and why?

I’d want to be a production executive for the Food Network.

Thanks for your time, Melissa!